Homemade Blueberry Banana Bread

I started by looking at a recipe in my Hungry Girl cookbook for their Top Banana Bread, but made a few of my own changes. For one, I don’t like using Splenda in baking, I think it leaves a weird taste. PLUS, I’m trying to avoid it, so I lessened the amount, and substituted plain sugar for the Splenda. The recipe also called for 1/2 cup applesauce, but I only had about 1/8 of a cup; so I ended up adding that, along with about 1/8 cup of vanilla Chobani, and 1/8 cup canola oil. Lastly, I wanted more than just bananas in my bread, so I added about 3/4 cup fresh blueberries.

In a medium mixing bowl, coming mashed bananas, egg substitute, applesauce, yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (9×5) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

ENJOY!

“They” always say that you should let your baked goods cool before cutting into them. Well after about 10 minutes, that was enough of a wait for me. I immediately sliced off the heel…

And then sat down to a proper slice spread with a little honey butter. SO FREAKIN’ GOOD! 😀

Lunch

For lunch today, I knew I was craving 2 things: brie & fruit. So I made sure to make the best of both. 😉

Fresh fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, and cantaloupe

Paired with a delicious sandwich combo! I started with a whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin, and topped it with some tomato slices, fresh basil leaves (which actually were the star of this baby!), some brie slices from last night, and a slice of the hubby’s black forest deli ham.

Surprisingly enough, after biting into it, I realized I was no longer in the mood for brie…weird, right? So I actually ended up taking it off and adding on a slice of my fave Sargento reduced fat provolone. MUCH better.

Only a few more hours left for the Chobani coupon giveaway! Looks like you guys really like your Chobani! 😉

Random Afternoon Question for ya:

Do you like nuts in brownies, cookies, or breads?

Even as I’ve grown to enjoy many types of nuts, I still do not enjoy them in my baked goods! (I got thinking about this because I saw walnuts listed in a banana bread recipe earlier and my initial reaction was “EEEW!” 😉

I’m the same way with nuts! I sometimes like them in cereal, but I DEFINITELY prefer my baked goods without them! Chocolate chips is a different story… 😉
I’m like a little kid when I bake, and if I don’t watch myself I will sneak choc chips in whenever I can! I would’ve used them instead of blueberries in the above recipe! The berries look delish though, smart choice!!!

Courtney, could you post a list of some of your favorite healthier bread prodcuts? I.e. breads, bagels, tortillas, etc? I’m steering our household away from any bleached flour products and need some suggestions. Can’t wait to try making this bread!

YUM! This is another one that I have to try. I LOVE banana bread & always try to ‘healthify’ the recipes with different ingredient combinations.
So funny that you don’t wait to cut into your baked goods- I don’t either. I like the piece right outta the oven

Wow, I just made this bread but used the 1/2 cup “applesauce” (really I used pear/blueberry baby food since it was all I had), swapped the blueberries for strawberries, traded 1/4 cup of the wheat flour for wheat bran and left out the sugar. This recipe is really amazing. I felt guilty while eating it even though I knew it was healthy! Unfortunately I was *too* excited to eat it hot and it kinda fell apart on me. =(